This is a blog related to CRM Archaeology and all that goes with it. I chronicle my experiences owning an archaeology firm, post news stories, and try to have educational material as often as possible.

Several posts ago I mentioned that I listen to podcasts while I'm doing pretty much anything. I really like to listen to them when I'm doing a survey. Often, survey involves a lot of walking and not much talking, especially if it's windy. Listening to podcasts and audio books are a great way to keep your mind sharp and focused so you can find the next Clovis point that will change archaeology forever!

The following is a list of the podcasts that I'm currently listening to. Sometimes I include others. Sometimes they stop having interesting topics and I stop listening. Most of these, however, I've been listening to regularly for several years now. The title links lead to iTunes where the shows can be downloaded. Oh, and, PODCASTS ARE FREE!!

Archaeology

The Archaeology Channel covers the week's archaeological news from around the country and the world. The podcast is 10-15 minutes in length and provides a great overview of the week's headlines. The website contains links and show notes. Apparently they have a new video podcast too. I'll have to check that out.

Naked Archaeology is produced by Cambridge University for the BBC. The show host, Diana O'Carroll provides a 30 minute discussion of current archaeology in the news and of new archaeological techniques. Check out the website. There are other great spin-off shows from the parent show, The Naked Scientists.

Stone Pages Archaeo News is a 20-30 minute podcast put out on a somewhat irregular basis by Diego Meozzi and David Connolly of BAJR. The podcast is certainly geared more towards the UK but does cover big stories from around the world. They also have a new iPhone App that will show you news stories where you live. Check out the website here.

60-Second Earth is a short podcast produced by Scientific American. It comes out a couple of times a week, sometimes less. Topics include Earth-related subjects, usually involving being Green. No, Kermit is not the host.

60-Second Mind is also produced by Scientific American and has a similar frequency. Topics include news items from the world of psychology and anything about the mind.

Are We Alone? is produced by the SETI people. The show hosts are Seth Shostack and Molly Bentley. They, along with a sizable crew, produce an hour long show every week about different science topics. It's not all about the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, however, the show topics usually tie in somehow. It's a great show for general science topics in an entertaining format.

Astronomy Cast is a roughly 30 minute long program covering everything astronomy. I've heard podcasts covering different astronomical missions such as the Kepler Mission (searching for extrasolar planets), celestial navigation, and every planet in the solar system, to name a few. Fraser Cain of Universe Today and Dr. Pamela Gay bring a thought provoking facts based journey of the universe to your playlist at least once a month.

The Naked Scientists is the show that Naked Archaeology spun off from. It is an hour long show that airs every week on BBC Radio. The show host of Dr. Chris Smith of Cambridge University. He hosts different segments throughout the show that illustrate scientific practices and current science news topics. The knowledgable reporters that are part of the show ask great questions and interview prominent scientists in a wide variety of fields. Plus, they all have really great British accents. The accent just makes me want to believe them.

Nature Podcast is the podcast from the scientific journal, Nature. This podcast highlights stories and papers reported on in the week's issue and the show hosts often interview the authors. The show is about 30 minutes long and comes out once a week. Sometimes there is a short "Nature Extra" that often includes extended interviews with study authors.

Originz is a podcast out of Australia by Paul Rex. Paul reads stories of all types, usually relating to a science topic or something strange, and he does it in a soothing voice with well chosen light music. I usually listen to podcasts on my iPhone at 2x speed but I like to slow this one down to normal speed to savor the peaceful sciencey goodness. Since Paul got his house back together after the Australian floods a few months ago he is back to putting out roughly 70 minute-long podcasts every week.

Science Talk is the "more or less" weekly podcast of Scientific American Magazine. The host, Steve Mirsky, presents listeners with science topics from the magazine and often interviews study authors. The end of the show often includes a "science or fiction" segment where you have to determine which of four stories is a fake. It's a great way to test your critical thinking skills!

Skepticism

American Freethought is described on iTunes as "An atheist podcast". The hosts, John Snider and David Driscoll, discuss current issues in the news relating to science and religion and often interview prominent figures in science and philosophy. Check out the show's blog.

Geologic Podcast is not about geology. In fact, it's not about anything specifically. The host and creator of the show is George Hrab. By day, George, or Geo, is a drummer in a Funk band in Pennsylvania called the Philadelphia Funk Authority. Once a week, however, Geo puts out an hour or so long podcast with science and skeptical topics presented in the form of music and entertaining skits. Geo is a multitalented entertainer and is well worth a listen.

The Humanist Hour. I just started listening to this a couple of months ago so here is the description from iTunes: "A typical episode of the HH podcast features interviews, commentary, news and music. Notable guests have included Sir Salman Rushdie, Prof. Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Christopher Hitchens, E. O. Wilson, Alan Dershowitz, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Andy Rooney, Greg Graffin of Bad Religion, Holly Near, Dar Williams and Julia Sweeney. The HH podcast is hosted and produced by American Humanist Association staffer Jessica Constantine."

The Skeptic Zone is a podcast from Australia for Science and Reason. Show host Richard Saunders presents segments that include discussions of current topics in the news and interviews with prominent skeptics and scientists.

Skepticality, the official podcast of Skeptic Magazine is hosted by the great podcasters, Derek and Swoopy. Their podcast aims to provide, "relevant, under reported current events, as well as in-depth discussions from a scientific, critical, skeptical, and humorous point of view." Derek and Swoopy frequently interview the authors of books that you end up really wanting to read, as well as prominent skeptics and scientists.

The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is the first podcast that I ever listened to. I was searching for "skeptic" in iTunes and this podcast came highly rated. That was about four years ago and it led to other great podcasts on this list. The format of the over one hour weekly show is the key to it's success. The "panel of skeptics" is led by Dr. Steven Novella, a neurologist at Yale University. He is joined by his brothers Jay and Bob, Even Bernstein, and Rebecca Watson. Topics covered vary across all areas of science and skepticism. They interview big name scientists and skeptics and answer listener email. The Skeptics' Guide just hit 300 episodes and they show no signs of stopping.

The Skeptics' Guide 5x5 was a short podcast, 5-10 minutes, covering a single topic in science and skepticism. They haven't put out an episode since the end of January this year, however, just a short glance at the description for an episode can give you great information on just about any topic.

NPR 7am News Summary is just that. It's put out at 7am EST so for those of us in the Pacific and Mountain time zones it's a great podcast to listen to on the way to the project area. It only takes about 5 minutes and briefs you on the big stories from the previous day.

NPR Planet Money is for those of us that have trouble understanding all the complicated things associated with our Nation's economy. If you don't know what a mortgage-backed security is then you should listen. It's not dry and the hosts do a wonderful job at explaining complex concepts in user-friendly terms.

NPR Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me is the "NPR News Quiz". It features a panel of three, phone-in callers, and a guest that answer questions from the week's news. If I ever laugh out loud uncontrollably on a site, you'll know that I'm listening to Wait, Wait...Don't Tell Me.

Entertainment

This American Life is an hour long radio show featuring, "first-person stories and short fiction pieces that are touching, funny, and surprising." Actually, I've never met a CRM archaeologist that didn't know about the show.

Other

Fat 2 Fit Radio features two hosts that provide information and insights into safe weight loss and healthy living. I only recently started listening to this show because it was referred to by other podcasts. So far I'm enjoying the format. The hosts answer listener email and sometimes mention healthy recipes.

Stuff Mom Never Told You is produced by the people at HowStuffWorks.com. It's mostly centered around female related topics but can be pretty informative for men too. After all, we all get along better when we understand each other!

Stuff You Should Know is a crazy funny and educational podcast that is also produced by the HowStuffWorks.com people. This one is hosted by Josh and Chuck and their interactions will make you laugh and make you think. Other podcasts could take a lesson from these guys.

That is a pretty extensive list. I'll admit that I sometimes skip podcasts because I can't listen to all of them and I get hopelessly behind. That doesn't happen much during the field season since I listen whenever I can and, I listen at 2x speed. That really helps. I hope at least one person gets something out of this list and decides to educate themselves while working rather than letting their brain atrophy at work while they think about the bar after work. If you don't see something you like, please, look around. The iTunes interface isn't the only place to get podcasts either. There are other places, including the show websites, where you can get MP3 files of the episodes. You don't need an iDevice to listen, either. Podcasts can be listened to on any device that can play an MP3, including the ability to burn the files to a CD.